Melissa Cruz
Melissa Cruz is the Communications Associate at the American Immigration Council. She oversees media relations and content creation for ImmigrationImpact.com, the Council’s daily online publication. Previously, she worked as a political reporter for RealClearPolitics and Bustle, as well as a writer for the Human Rights Campaign. Melissa received her B.A. in English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Georgia State University.
Fewer international students came to the United States in 2017 to continue their studies, leaving American universities less diverse and financially solvent. There is no doubt that international competition for the world’s most promising students is fierce. Canada and China are competing with the United States for global talent, yet the Trump administration’s stricter immigration […]
When President Trump terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative last fall, he only allowed those whose DACA was due to expire before March 5 an opportunity to renew. March 5, 2018 then became the de facto deadline that the president and Congress said must be met to find a permanent solution for […]
From their meme-worthy Opening Ceremony gloves to some stunning wins on the halfpipe, Team USA has started the 2018 Winter Olympics off with a bang. Early victories in the Pyeongchang, South Korea games would not be possible without this entire group of 242 talented Americans—including the multiple athletes that have benefited from the United States’ […]
Immigrant women and girls face unique challenges in navigating the U.S. immigration system, their dire circumstances often exacerbated by the gender-based violence they encounter on the journey and upon their arrival to the United States. These struggles were captured in a new report from the Tahirih Justice Center, which surveyed a group of immigrant women, […]
The United States has always been a prime location for foreign tourists, historically maintaining its ranking as the world’s most visited country. But with more and more tourists opting to travel elsewhere within the last year, the United States’ tourism appeal is shrinking. This decline in tourism is largely thought to be the byproduct of […]
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristjen Nielsen announced on Monday that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador would be terminated. The decision to terminate TPS for some 200,000 Salvadorans comes on the heels of months of advocacy, which focused on their decades-long lawful residency in the United States and El Salvador’s ongoing problems […]
With just a matter of days left before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must decide the fate of 200,000 Salvadorans, momentum around this community of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders is only growing. As the majority of Salvadoran TPS recipients have lawfully lived and worked in the United States for nearly two decades, various […]
The 2017 news cycle was filled with devastating stories of family separation as the Trump Administration began to place its mark on American’s immigration policy. While the coverage of immigration has been broad, we consider these to be the top five stories of 2017.
Doug Jones, a former Democratic prosecutor once considered a longshot in Republican-majority Alabama, narrowly won the state’s Senate race Tuesday evening in what may ultimately prove to be a needed boost for immigrants’ rights on Capitol Hill. Jones’ stance on immigration was largely captured during the contentious Senate race, in which he was repeatedly questioned […]
Current and former recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative are asking Congress to recognize the impact they and other Dreamers have on the United States, and to subsequently pass legislation that protects them from deportation and places them on a path to citizenship. One of the clear benefits of providing young […]
